Last night we attended the opening reception of the “JR/ José Parlá: The Wrinkles of the City” at Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery in New York City. The two artists have originally worked together on this project in Havana, Cuba a couple of years ago, and have now brought the artwork to New York City for everybody to enjoy.

“The Wrinkles of the City was started by JR in Cartagena, Spain and has been reprised in Shanghai, Los Angeles, and most recently, Havana. In 2012, JR and Parlá photographed and interviewed dozens of senior citizens who lived through the Cuban revolution, flyposting colossal black-and-white portraits of their subjects on the walls of city buildings. Parlá, who is of Cuban descent, interlaces the images with palimpsestic, calligraphic writings and color. In a city devoid of commercial imagery, JR and Parlá’s enormous yet intimate portraits offer a stunningly humane contrast to the endless repetition of political icons.

This exhibition will consist of twelve large portraits from the Havana iteration of The Wrinkles of the City project along with a site-specific installation.”

The combination of the two art forms of the artists is simply beautiful and has a stunning outcome. The emotion-packed images and large-scale pastings of JR infused with the calligraphic writings of Parla is a match made in heaven.